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Old Thu, Aug-15-24, 11:08
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Calianna Calianna is offline
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Posts: 2,177
 
Plan: Atkins-ish (hypoglycemia)
Stats: 000/000/000 Female 63
BF:
Progress: 50%
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Agreed, it's not easy to stick to any one diet.

And with all the different ones out there, it's not easy to find the one that works.

But they are in general groups. So if two low-fat diets aren't working, don't try another. If a couple of fruit based diets don't work, why try a third?

On the other hand, if you get some results from one, another in the same class might work better.


I think you may be simplifying the choices a bit too much. The primary choices are low fat/low calorie vs low carb, but there are so many variations available within those 2 categories - and unfortunately most people know so little about nutrition that they don't recognize that the hundreds (thousands?) of different versions of the same low fat/low calorie diet are essentially the same diet, just with slight variations that make no difference as far as sustainability.

Take for instance the many different versions of low fat/low calorie diets that Weight Watchers alone has promoted during the last 50-some years:
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1972 - Weight Watchers Program Handbook for Ladies
1980s - Exchange Program (modified to show approximate time not sure of exact date - Koshka)

1997 - 1-2-3 Success - The First Points Program

2001 Winning Points - Redesign of the 1-2-3 Plan

2004 Turn Around - with Flex and Core. New Core Plan - Later to be known as Simply Filling - Allows for a list of foods to be eaten 'until satisfied' - without counting points. (Some concepts similar to South Beach Diet) Activity Points can be earned, but used that day only - no banking of points.

2008 Momentum - Points Program that takes filling foods from the Core concept and combines it with the Points program. Core has been eliminated. Simply Filling is the new name for Core. You can earn 35 weekly points and activity points based on weight, duration and intensity of exercise. Activity Points can now be banked weekly. There is a range of 18-37 daily points.

2010 Points Plus - Points Plus and Simply Filling Technique (Simply Filling is similar to previous Core plan) - There are new daily target ranges, new point values, all the points are now referred to as Points Plus. Points are now calculated with 4 values instead of 3 - carbs, fat, fiber, and protein. Daily point range is now 29-71 daily points, with 49 weekly points - A substantial increase, however, most food now also has a higher point value (29 was later reduced to 26).
Simply Filling Technique (SFT) also gets 49 weekly points to be used for non SFT foods. Both plans earn Activity Points, which can be banked weekly.


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2012 - 360 Points Plus and Simply Filling with the addition of Behavioral and Environmental changes. Fruit becomes 0 points

2014 - PointsPlus - SimpleStart added to jumpstart program for first couple of week.

2016 - Beyond the Scale using SmartPoints. SmartPoints calculated using calories, saturated fat, sugar and protein. Activity Points became FitPoints.

2017 - FreeStyle adds about 200 foods to zero point food list. Daily points are reduced to compensate.


The most recent one on that list was from back in 2017 - but it gives you an idea of all the different plans - which were all still essentially the same diet: low fat/ low calorie, some just offering slightly different choices and ways to calculate how much you could eat of which foods. But it was essentially the same calorie restricted diet.

And that's just WW diets.

I recall reading my mom's women's magazines in the 60's (mostly Family Circle and Woman's Day). Almost every issue had a NEW diet, which was just a slightly different rehash of the same diet they'd published over and over and over. But of course they were always promoted as the most satisfying and successful diet ever. The same sort of "best diet ever" shows up on a regular basis in the women's magazines these days.


But if we go back to that list of LC diets, there's definite differences between them, some of the differences striking enough that I can see trying a few different ones to see which one works best for you, because if you start out with one that allows more carbs, such as The Zone (40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 30% fat) , decide that's not working for you, then decide to try out the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet (Two low carb meals, and the third meal is the "reward" meal - includes a carbohydrate-rich food, including any dessert you may desire), you may not see a whole lot of difference in the results or your ability to adhere to the diet.

However if you start out with Atkins, then go to Protein Power, you might find that one of them works better for you than the other.

It might also be worth trying some of the other LC diets mentioned, just to see if they work better for you. But that's because the composition of LC diets have varied macronutrient percentages, plus some (such as Atkins) allow some tweaks to personalize it to your individual metabolism, which really can affect results and ability to adhere to the diet. (As opposed to how most low cal/low fat diets are just minor rehashes of the same calorie restrictions, with little thought given to how it makes you feel, how easy it is to stick to, much less whether all the micronutrients necessary for health are even bio-available in the diet.)
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